Ashya King donations ‘spent on expensive aftercare’

Ben Fishwick

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THOUSANDS of pounds donated to the family of five-year-old brain tumour sufferer Ashya King has been spent on his care in Spain.

Speaking to The News, the Southsea boy’s aunt and grandmother said bills are spiralling with costs of more than £100,000.

They also revealed recent check-ups show the cancer has not come back.

The family are living in Spain after a international manhunt was sparked when Ashya’s parents Brett and Naghmeh King took him from Southampton General Hospital without telling medics.

Ashya’s aunt Tracy King, 50, of Southsea, has criticised people who she feels cast doubt on what the family have done with the cash.

She said: ‘The NHS never paid for any of his aftercare at all. That’s where the money went – all on his aftercare.

‘My brother is still paying out now for his treatment.’

Ashya had a brain tumour, which surgeons in Southampton removed.

But his parents disputed the type of treatment that should follow and fled the country on August 28 last year. They were briefly jailed in Spain when they were finally found 48 hours after disappearing.

Money was donated to pay for his treatment, but eventually the NHS agreed to fund proton beam therapy for the boy in the Czech Republic, a treatment not available in this country. However, the King family says there has been no help with the expensive aftercare.

Ashya’s grandmother Patricia King, 77, added: ‘My son has sold his apartment in Spain to pay for his aftercare.

‘He hasn’t received a penny from the NHS.

‘It’s cost over £100,000 so fare, including the flights out there. You can imagine – he had specialist care the whole time. It wasn’t just proton, that wasn’t the end of it.

‘The doctors in Spain are expensive. It’s just been non-stop paying out all the time.’

Ashya is undergoing physiotherapy treatment in Spain after receiving the proton beam therapy.

Mrs King said: ‘He doesn’t need any more treatment for cancer. Every so often he has a check-up. Every check-up has come back cancer-free.’

She added solicitors’ bills for Brett and Naghmeh were expensive.

The family are still waiting for assurances from Portsmouth City Council before returning to this country.